The final tune-up for the men's track and field team, before the NCAA Championships, consisted of three meets over the weekend, during which athletes from around the country hoped to post qualifying marks.
Runners and throwers participated in the Tufts Last Chance Meet on Thursday, the Eastern College Athletic Conference Div. III Championships (ECACs) at the Reggie Lewis Center and the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletics of America Championships (IC4As) at Boston University.
There was an undeniable sense of urgency among those who had yet to qualify, but for some, an even greater air of optimism permeated the ranks.
"I was pretty disappointed with my race at Boston University [in the 800 on Feb. 28]," sophomore Veer Bhalla said. "It was very tactical and physical, so I wasn't able to run smoothly [even though] I still [set a personal best]. After that I knew I could run faster, and I just wanted to go out and do it - no hesitations."
In fact, Bhalla's performance proved to be the highlight of the Tufts Last Chance Meet, the first of the three meets on the docket. The sophomore recorded the fifth fastest time in the 800 in the nation this season, shaving off approximately one and one-half seconds off his time of 1:52.86, and guaranteeing him a trip to the NCAA Championships. The flat track in the Gantcher Center helped Bhalla, he said.
"I was lucky enough to have [sophomore] Mitch [Black] rabbit me through [the first] 600 meters [of the race] in 1:23-ish, setting me up to run a legit time," Bhalla said. "I'm usually reluctant to go out hard, or in the lead, but I knew I'd have to get right on Mitch from the gun to avoid trouble with the rest of the pack, and to qualify for nationals."
Despite the impressive time, Keene State senior Ryan Widzgowski, who also recently recorded the second fastest mile time in Keene State history at the Open New England Championships, bested Bhalla by just under a half-second.
Alongside Bhalla, senior tri-captain Jamie Norton, who has already qualified for the NCAA Championships in the mile and is now the school record-holder in the event, rounded out the top-five in the 800 with a time of 1:55.53.
Senior Graham Beutler failed to qualify for the NCAA Championships in the 200-meter dash with his time of 22.37. Beutler will still run next weekend in the open 400 and also with the 4x400 relay team, where he will be joined by the sophomore trio of Francis Goins, Alex Kasemir, and Mitchell Black.
Bhalla's was not the only personal best time recorded at the Last Chance meet, as classmate Bryson Hoover-Hankerson set a personal best in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.22. After finishing in fifth place in the preliminary round with a time of 7.28, Hoover-Hankerson improved upon his initial result by six hundredths of a second to finish fourth overall, right behind Brandeis senior Vincent Asante.
In the pit, junior Brian Williamson and sophomore Atticus Swett finished second and fourth - Williamson with a throw of 51' 9", Swett with a throw of 50' 3 1/2".
"It went pretty well, but unfortunately we weren't able to hit the marks we need to qualify for Nationals," Swett said.
Although Swett and Williamson had another chance the following day at ECACs, neither thrower was able to improve upon their scores from Thursday.
Held simultaneously with ECACs, the IC4As was the third meet Tufts attended, but just one athlete, sophomore Francis Goins, made the trip.
Running the 400, Goins crossed the line in 23rd place in a time of 49.01, a personal best. While he did not qualify for nationals, which was not the objective from the outset, he will travel to Lincoln, Neb. as a member of the 4x400 relay team.
The season concludes next weekend at the NCAA Championships, where a select six Jumbos (Black, Bhalla, Norton, Goins, Kasemir and Beutler) will try to surpass the best performance from a year ago - a second place finish in the distance medley relay - to bring home the hardware.
